It’s a big break for the toy maker and its first license to brand its shooters that send miniature marshmallow ammo 30 feet. Duck Commander and Buck Commander shooters will be in Bass Pro Shops, Toys R Us and Academy Sports stores in time for Christmas shopping. (Buck Commander is a sister company with a deer hunting show on Outdoor TV.)

The partnership also happened fast, not only because the license and product are a good match but because Marshmallow Fun’s co-founder, Beaver Raymond, went hunting in Huntsville more than 15 years ago with a father and son.

The son, Grant Taylor, grew up and went to work for the bearded, longhaired redneck Robertson family, whose Duck Dynasty show, now in its fourth season, gets better ratings than hits like Breaking Bad and Downton Abbey.

The marshmallow shooters are targeted toward children, but Taylor, 32, who is general manager of both Robertson family businesses, said adults like them a lot, too.

“And that’s just like our show. People of all ages watch it. Both are about good, harmless fun,” Taylor said. “The fun and lighthearted aspects go hand in hand.”

Duck Commander gets daily inquiries about licensing and branding opportunities, he said. “It’s a show, culture, idea that people want to embrace. The spiritual aspects bonded people to the show.”

In a recent New York Times article about the family and the show, an A&E executive said the family dynamics create a cross between The Beverly Hillbillies, because the brand is making them lots of money, and The Waltons, because no matter what arguments they have, at the end of the day they sit around the dinner table and say grace together.

Marshmallow Fun is also a family business.

Husband and wife Beaver and Kim Raymond and business partner Johnny dela Valdene created a multimillion-dollar business after they made marshmallow shooters out of PVC pipe for their son’s birthday party. They shipped their first product in time for holiday shopping in 2005.

The company’s sales slowed during the recession but built back up to sales of $4.7 million last year. Raymond forecasts that the company will end the year with $5.5 million in sales thanks to a fourth-quarter boost from the Duck and Buck products.

Each quirky Robertson family member featured on the show has his own Marshmallow weapon. The license also inspired a new product: Marshmallow Fun’s version of a slingshot called the Snap Dragon. It has a storage compartment for miniature mallows.

Bass Pro Shops was the first to receive a shipment of Duck and Buck Commander shooters in July.

“It’s been a great seller. It’s such a popular license right now,” said Justin Lipscomb, a buyer for the Springfield, Mo.-based outdoor superstore. He encouraged Raymond to go after the Duck Commander and Buck Commander license after seeing how popular the book The Duck Commander Family was with Bass Pro shoppers last year.

Other deals

Marshmallow Fun is hearing from other big brands that want their names on its shooters and is close to announcing a couple of other popular licenses.

The company has about 15 patents. It recently expanded into private label and now makes shooters branded for specialty candy retailers Dylan’s Candy Bar, FAO Schweetz and It’s Sugar.

“We thought the toy people were so nice; the candy folks are even sweeter,” Raymond said.

It’s Sugar has a shop inside London’s Selfridges department store and just shipped private label shooters there for the first time, said Allison Rubin, global brand director of the Florida-based candy chain.

“We sell a lot of them as gifts and for birthday parties,” Rubin said. “Our orders will be growing.”

She just reordered for holiday shoppers. It’s Sugar will end this year with 50 stores and plans to open 25 more next year. Rubin also ordered some of the Duck Commander-branded toys.

“We feel so fortunate. When we went to Duck Commander headquarters, we saw pallets and pallets of product that people are trying to get them to grant licenses for,” Raymond said. “They shrink-wrap it because they don’t have time to look at all of it.”

FW meeting

Growing up in Dallas’ Lake Highlands neighborhood, Raymond, 57, said he fished as a boy but didn’t catch the hunting bug until he married Kim, whose family is all about the sport.

Fast forward 15 years.

In February, Raymond and dela Valdene attended the Nations Best Group show, a sporting goods buying event held in Fort Worth. Their mission was to get to the always crowded Duck Commander booth and make their pitch. They finally got to the front of the line to deliver their shooter and Raymond’s business card to Taylor.

“I never would have recognized Grant from that one hunting trip. He was a kid, and now he was 6-foot-4 with long hair and a beard,” Raymond said.

Likewise, Taylor said he never would have recognized Raymond.

“But I remembered his first name, and I know his kinfolk,” Taylor said. “It’s so distinct. When we’d talk about all the guys we went hunting with, we always brought up Beaver.”

For the record, Beaver is Raymond’s real name. His father is an American Indian with roots in East Texas. “Growing up, I was little Beaver and my Dad was Big Beaver.”